Sending the Divine

Chapter 74: Heartless

Compared to the crooked Kushan Sect, the impact on Shi Zhongyu was the greatest.

She skipped over the terrifying history of two hundred years ago and went straight to the point. “To create a disaster warding talisman, human corpses are used as materials? Isn’t that desecrating innocent deceased individuals? This kind of thing…”

Her stubbornness as a member of the Taiheng Sect returned.

Chen Qianfan sneered, “Powerful talismans have high material requirements. It’s not surprising to use human bodies as materials. Girl, if you don’t want to offend the dead, then find someone with abundant inner force and kill them on the spot. That can also be used as material—I think that fox-eyed kid is quite suitable.”

Shi Jingzhi: “…”

He had just been marveling at the strangeness of the Arcane Arts, but now his attention had to shift back.

Shi Zhongyu naturally refused to kill indiscriminately. “Senior, you’re joking.”

“Then what? Is it more important to protect your Sect Master or to preserve the intact corpse of someone who died two hundred years ago? You figure it out.”

Shi Zhongyu’s face turned pale and green, but in the end, she compromised. She let out a soft sigh. “After going through this, I no longer have the face to condemn the Chigou Sect as a demonic sect.”

Only then did Chen Qianfan nod in satisfaction. “Stubbornness is one thing, but being stubborn to the point of no cure is another. Not bad.”

This old man had a way of praising people with an insulting tone.

At the same time, the eerie Arcane Arts, in its horrifying appearance, finished devouring the corpse of the deer monster. It stood quietly in place, surrounded by a group of smaller demons who were gnawing on the remains. The white snow reflected the early spring sunlight, making the pile of corpses clearly visible.

The bodies were fused together, and the connecting parts resembled melting wax, like some kind of eerie flesh scales. The writing on the corpse’s skin slowed down, revealing its content. It wasn’t the formal script of the Yun Dynasty but rather tadpole-like talisman symbols.

“Alright, for the next few days, it will only wander around this area. If you can tear off one corpse, it will be considered a great achievement.”

“Miss Shi, as yang fire can restrain yin evil, I’ll go.” Shi Jingzhi volunteered.

But as soon as he took a step forward, Chen Qianfan gave him a resounding slap. Chen Qianfan brought out his inner force this time, making Shi Jingzhi cover his head and feel stars spinning before his eyes.

“Who do you think you are? Among this group, you are the most dangerous.”

Chen Qianfan scolded without holding back.

“Didn’t I just tell you? This Arcane Arts must be handled with care. Just the techniques inscribed on one piece of the corpse would take someone four to five years to study. This is the treasure of the entire Mishan Sect. And as for yang fire, does your family use torches to hold precious calligraphy?”

“But…” Although a normal landscape painting wouldn’t bite people, this thing looked dangerous no matter how you looked at it.

“Only those with the ability can possess the Arcane Arts. You just have to be cautious. If you overestimate your abilities and damage the yet-to-be-understood Arcane Arts, you’ll be expelled from the Mishan Sect at best and, at worst, pursued by the Mishan Sect. Do you want to give it a try?”

Shi Jingzhi was speechless.

On the side, Yin Ci shook his head silently.

Leaving aside the strength of the Arcane Arts, just this rule alone was enough to trap Shi Jingzhi. He excelled in battles by relying on brute force and overpowering his opponents with the power of the yang fire. Now that his inner force and qinggong were up to par, the only thing lacking was meticulousness and attention to detail.

This matter still required him and Shi Zhongyu to take action.

“Alright, I’ve said everything I needed to say. Wait for half an incense stick, then you can go up and try. Remember to be gentle. I will assist you with spells.”

Yin Ci raised an eyebrow. “Senior, aren’t you joining us?”

Elder Chen stood his ground. “This thing is very dangerous, and I value my life. Why, you’ve already asked me to do so much; you wouldn’t want me to take the risk of losing my life as well, would you?”

Yin Ci suspected that this old man had a craving for the ancient spells on the ancient corpse and couldn’t deal with the Arcane Arts alone, so he brought them here to do the hard work.

But it worked out perfectly. Trading spells with the disaster warding talisman was fair and just, without owing any favors.

While thinking about this, Chen Qianfan spread open the old record book and quickly wrote a few lines with a charcoal pencil. He didn’t hide it from everyone; the handwriting was neat and clear, easily visible at a glance.

Elder Chen quickly wrote down the arrival time of the Kushan Sect and Shi Zhongyu, the purpose of this trip, and the need to make two sets of disaster warding talisman. Then, he glanced at Yin Ci and deliberately added a few lines of unfamiliar characters before stopping.

With the recording complete, Chen Qianfan spread the record book on the snowy ground. Without even tidying up the charcoal pencil he created a formation with true qi out of thin air.

Yin Ci’s expression changed slightly.

It was a delicate destruction spell specifically designed to erase memories. Many years ago, Yin Ci had also considered using it to seek liberation. He once asked someone to use this spell on himself, but unfortunately, it relied on physical destruction, and his self-healing ability rendered it ineffective.

Chen Qianfan had definitely improved this spell. If the original spell was likened to a bone-cutting knife, the one in his hands was more like a delicate micro-engraving knife, swift and accurate.

The spell took effect, but the target of the attack was Chen Qianfan himself.

A faint white light flashed, and Chen Qianfan was stunned for a moment. He looked around somewhat dazedly, then lowered his head to read the words in the record book.

After reading those few lines, he straightened his back and collected the thick book.

Except for Yin Ci, no one recognized the true nature of that spell. With the completion of the spell, cast on Chen Qianfan himself, they only thought that the old man wanted to strengthen his own abilities. However, Chen Qianfan reacted strangely. Instead of being enhanced by the spell, he seemed to be confused by it.

The tense atmosphere before the battle transformed into confusion. Chen Qianfan calmly immersed himself in the confusion, his gaze sweeping across everyone.

His gaze was cold and clean. Among them, the longing for Shi Jingzhi as “good material” disappeared, as did the admiration for Shi Zhongyu, and even the curiosity about Yin Ci’s inquiry regarding the spell vanished.

It was as if it had been their first encounter yesterday.

Compared to before, Elder Chen’s attitude hadn’t changed much. After observing everyone, Chen Qianfan hummed and said sharply, “Alright, let’s go.”

Yin Ci cleared his throat and asked on behalf of his two bewildered companions, “Senior, what did you…?”

“Just deleting unnecessary memories.”

Chen Qianfan seemed accustomed to such scenes long ago and couldn’t even be bothered to shift his gaze.

“Becoming an immortal means severing the seven emotions and six desires. Unnecessary connections will only be a hindrance. Alright, you guys, hurry up and go deal with the corpses over there. Little Fox-Eyes, you can take a good look. Erasing memories is that simple.”

Yin Ci understood.

No wonder Chen Qianfan didn’t ask for their names; he had planned to forget them from the beginning.

In this way, to him, they were just three juniors who he met for the first time. Chen Qianfan knew nothing about them. Even if they were covered in wounds, with intestines hanging out and blood flowing, he wouldn’t have the slightest emotional fluctuation.

Reducing worldly encounters to a few lines on paper was indeed a cold and heartless approach.

No wonder Chen Qianfan, a man full of emotions, could isolate himself from the world for thirty years in the northern lands.

Yin Ci wasn’t surprised. This method was cruel but effective. He had bid farewell to generation after generation of people, from his youth, when he was full of vigor and passion, to seeing the elderly being buried and offering incense. Countless vivid loves and hatreds had vanished into thin air, unremembered, leaving only a faint impression in his heart.

No matter how tumultuous the waves of the past were, when looking back now, they were merely a concise phrase, “It did happen,” unable to evoke any sense of nostalgia.

Unfortunately, he was different from Chen Qianfan after all. Time didn’t have an immediate effect like a spell. Before memories faded away, he had to engrave them in his heart.

Yin Ci tightened his grip on the Hanging Shadow Sword. He glanced, intentionally or unintentionally, at Shi Jingzhi. A few steps away, Shi Jingzhi stared at Chen Qianfan in a focused manner. Even the fear of the Arcane Arts had dissipated, leaving behind a thoughtful expression on his face.

After a hundred years, would Shi Jingzhi also become his “It did happen”?

Yin Ci tightened his grip on the sword.

He let out a breath, abandoning the cluttered thoughts in his mind, and rushed towards the terrifying Arcane Arts not far away.

……

To be honest, the Arcane Arts was even more difficult to deal with than Yin Ci had imagined.

With the current desolation of the Milan Kingdom’s land, the Arcane Arts had a massive body but lacked sufficient energy, and its movements weren’t particularly fast. Yin Ci’s Bone Sweeping Sword technique was precise and should have been perfectly effective against it.

Unfortunately, with Shi Zhongyu by his side, he couldn’t unleash the full potential of the Bone Sweeping technique. Moreover, the magic of this thing was truly peculiar. Yin Ci and Shi Zhongyu struggled for half an hour but still couldn’t touch its oily skin.

It seemed that there was an invisible, sticky aura surrounding the Arcane Arts. Every time Yin Ci’s sword swept past, the nearby corpses would convulse, and the magic symbols would immediately gather and emit a bright red light.

Yin Ci felt as if he had struck something soft and resilient, causing his sword to slip and not even touch the corpse. There were annoying little monsters all around the Arcane Arts’ feet, so he couldn’t stay on the ground for too long and couldn’t slowly wear it down.

Therefore, Yin Ci decided to focus his attack on one spot.

He fixed his gaze on a corpse at the side of the Arcane Arts’ waist. The black sword reflected the gleam of snow, swift as lightning, as if it wanted to shatter the cold wind.

However, it seemed as if the Arcane Arts had seen through his intentions. Qi gathered near Yin Ci’s point of attack, and a murky fluid seeped out from the gaps in the corpse, mixing with the gathered qi to form a soft and pus-like blister, making the surface even more slippery.

Facing such a giant monster, not having inner force was always the most fatal weakness. Not to mention cutting through flesh and sweeping bones, Yin Ci felt as if he was cutting through a clump of mud and water, leaving no trace of injury.

Not far away, although Shi Zhongyu had inner force, she was even more miserable than Yin Ci.

Several snake-like spell characters wound around the blade of the Green Maiden Sword, corroding it into a pockmarked state.

If Shi Zhongyu hadn’t promptly discarded the sword, she would have nearly lost her right hand—one of the spells had almost touched her fingers, and her fingertips almost instantly turned an unnatural pale green.

Shi Zhongyu made a quick decision, took out a small knife, and cut off more than half of her fingertip. Blood splattered, and the spell was satisfied and retracted, quickly engulfing that small piece of fingertip into the Arcane Arts..

“Hmm. I’ve figured out your styles.”

Throughout the whole process, Chen Qianfan remained calm, stroking his messy beard. Shi Jingzhi clenched his fists, his face solemn, his thoughts unknown.

“That girl has some sincerity but limited talent. As for dead face boy, at this stage, you’re still holding back?”

Yin Ci sheathed his sword and flipped mid-air, landing steadily on the snowy ground. “It was just a tentative move.”

Shi Zhongyu also stopped upon hearing this. She hadn’t had the chance to bandage her wound, and blood droplets scattered on the snow, resembling blossoming plum flowers. “Please give us some guidance, Senior.”

Chen Qianfan waved his hand. “Rest for a while first. It won’t leave immediately. Sort out your own issues first—if you’re absent-minded and hesitant, you won’t be able to deal with the Arcane Arts.”

“After assessing your abilities, if you want to deal with it, you’ll have to go all out.”

Chen Qianfan’s gaze locked onto Yin Ci.

“Especially you.”